Long Beach - Ucluelet
Long Beach in Ucluelet is the largest and longest beach in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. It is located on Wickaninnish Bay between Tofino and Ucluelet and is adjoined by campgrounds and picnic areas. The Tofino-Ucluelet highway parallels the entirety of the beach. The beach’s consistent surf, exposed to the open Pacific Ocean, established it as one of the earliest and most popular surfing locations in British Columbia. Offers both outdoor and indoor educational programs, an interpretive centre at Wickaninnish Beach, and excellent hiking through rainforests and along its many scenic beaches.
Wildlife also abounds around Ucluelet and on Long Beach itself. From crabs to whales and from bears to eagles and sea lions, you could enjoy meeting many majestic west coast creatures.
You could easily spend days exploring Pacific Rim National Park’s many beaches and trails. If you’re planning a day trip into Tofino, consider renting a bike and riding along the scenic Pacific Rim Highway. You can get off the highway and onto a bike path at various points between Ucluelet and Tofino. It is also possible to use bikes on beaches.
Long Beach features rocky ‘islands’ in the mid-tidal zone of the beach that you can only access at low tide; when the tide is high, these islands are either surrounded by water or thrashed by ocean swells. Remember, there are dangerous rip currents around the larger islands, and some extent in the open sea farther out. Our beaches are unsupervised and swimming is extremely hazardous. Park visitors have been swept from shorebound rocks during storm season; for this reason, you can not access beaches during heavy storm weather. There are many warning signs about the danger of visiting the beach during high tide, as shorebound logs are sometimes shifted unexpectedly by swells that wash onto the higher reaches of the beach.
